Die



June 5, 1945.

K. R. ALLEN DIE Filed May 29, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. {flaw/k ZZ Hill/t K. R. ALLEN June 5, 1945.

DIE

' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29, 1943 Patented June 5, 1945 DIE Kenneth R. Allen, Ridgewood, N. Y., assignor to American Seal-Kan Corporation of Delaware, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application May 29, 1943, Serial No. 488,993

4 Claims.

This invention relates to dies for making paper caps and more particularly todies of .the general type disclosed in the patent to Martin, 2,221,197, dated November 12, 1940, which includes members for drawing the blank to form a central cup or diaphragm, a draw ring to form a peripheral up-standing U-shaped rim housing to extend over the rim of the container to which the cap is applied, an outer skiving ring to skive or compress the outer wall of the rim housing, and a sizing. ring to engage the lower edge of said outer wall for sizing and shaping the same and for applying die forming pressure thereto.

The present invention provides an improved die of the above type which is particularly suited for forming a cap havinga narrow rim housing to fit over the thin edge of a tubular paper or metal container.

In making caps of this type, difllculty has been experienced in stripping the formed cap from the die, inasmuch as the rim housing tends to grip the draw ring with a force which may resultin deformation of or injury to the outer wall of the cap when it is stripped therefrom. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a die in which this difllculty is eliminated and in which means is provided for stripping the formed cap from the die. without injury to the cap.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention are pointed out more particularly in the claims appended hereto, the invention itself may be better under- Fig. 6 is a similar partial section of the dies in cap stripping position;

Fig. 7 is a similar partial section showing the dies at the end of the forming operation and in the position toreceive the next blank.

In the following description, certain specific terms are used for convenience in referring to various details of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that these terms are: to be given as broad an interpretation as the state of the art will permit.

Referring first to Fig. 3, the completed cap is shown as comprising a central diaphragm III and an upstanding U-shaped rim housing II having stood by referring to the following description,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, partly. brokenaway, to show the construction of a cap of the type formed on die members of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial enlarged section of the upper and lowerdies at the end of the cupping operation; Fig. 5 is asimilar partial section of the dies in final forming position; I

a vertical inner wall I2, a top I3, and an outer wall- I4. In the embodiment shown, the inner wall I2 and the outer wall I4 are spaced to rip the top edge of a paper or metal container. The

cap may be made from a paper blank which has.

been suitably pretreated as set forth in the Baum Patent 1,668,349, dated May 1, 1928, or from other thin, flexible material, such as aluminum foil or the like.

The upper die for forming the above can is shown more in detail in Fig. 1 as comprising a shell or support which carries an upper diaphragm support 2I and an upper diaphragm support cap 22, which are slidably mounted in the shell 29 for movement against the pressure of a spring (not shown) An upper diaphragm draw plate 23 is p vi ed with a cylindrical section 24 which is slidably mounted within the upper diaphragm support 2| and is provided with a cap 25 which is threaded onto the cylindrical part 24 and engages a shoulder 26 on the upper diaphragm support 2| to limit the movement of the upper diaphragm draw plate 23. A spring 21 is seated between the cap 25 and the cap 22 for holding the diaphragm draw plate 23 in its lower position. An ejector pin 20 is mounted in the diaphragm draw plate 23 and is held in its lower position by a spring 22. This pin 29 serves to strip the cap from the upper diaphragm draw plate.

The diaphragm support 2| also carries a diaphragm head ring 3! having a central recess 36 in which the diaphragm draw plate 23 slides. The head ring is provided with an outer surface 40 which forms the outer surface of the inner wall i2 of the cap and with a top surface 4 I, which forms the top I2 of the cap.

A skiving ring 42 is slidably mounted with respect to the head ring 35 and is provided with an inner surface 43 which presses and drives the outer surface of the outerfwall l4 of the cap.

The skiving ring 42 is held by the skiving ring retainer 44 and by a lip 45 on an upper creasing ring 46 which is secured to the skiving ring retainer 44 and is provided with a lower surface 41 having a contour to crease the blank as it is drawn inwardly so as to facilitate folding the same downwardly to form the outer wall M, The

skiving ring retainer 44 is resiliently held by pins 1 48 andsprings (not shown) carried in the shell 20 and is provided with a surface 50 which engages the shell 20 to limit the movement of the retainer and to cause the skiving ring to become rigid with the shell after a predetermined movement has taken place. The retainer 44 is formed with a shoulder 38 which limits the upward movement of the head ring 35.

The lower die shown in Fig. 2 is provided with a base 50 to which a shell 5| is attached by suitable means. A cup 53 is slidably mounted within the shell 5| and may b provided with a plurality of oil or grease grooves 54 at the sliding surfaces. The cup 53 and the base 50' are provided with aligned recesses in which springs 55 and 56 are seated. The springs urge the cup 53 upwardly against a shoulder 51 on the shell 5|.

A rim housing draw ring 60 is seated on the cup 53. This ring-60 is rovided with an up- 65 is supported by a spring plate 66 which is mounted on the cup 53 and is held by a spring plate retainer 61 which is threaded to the draw ring 60. Suflicient clearance is provided between the spring plate 66 and the block body 63 to permit the desired relative movement of the block body and draw block with respect to the draw ring 60.

A sizing ring is slidably mounted around the draw ring '60 and is supported for limited sliding movement by a sizing ring retainer 1| which is secured by pins 12 extending in bores 68 in the shell 5| and held downwardly by springs 69.

A lower creasing ring 80 is resiliently supported by pins 8| and springs 82, seated in bores 84 in the shell 5| and is provided with a top surface 83 which cooperates with the surface of the.

upper creasing ring 41 for creasing the outer portion of the blank as the latter is drawn thereover.

A pin 13, formed on a cup 14 and pressed outwardly by a spring 15, extends through a slot 16 n e r r 60 to engage a shoulder 11 on the sizing ring 10 for lifting the same against the pressure of the springs 69. Inclined cam surfaces 18 and 19 on the draw ring 60 and on the :up 14 respectively serve to retract the pin 13 :o the position shown in Fig. 2 to release the siz- .ng ring 10 when the draw block body 63 reaches its upper position. A stop pin 85, carried by the block body 63 enters a recess 86in the cup 14 to prevent the pin 13 from moving outwardly beyond its operating pos tion if the pin 13 should accidentally move below the sizing ring. The stop pin 85 also facil tates assembling the die.

In the operation of this die for forming a cap, a pretreated blank 81 is placed between the upper and lower dies as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, The

upper die is then brought downwardly against the lower die. As pressure is applied the upper diaphragm draw plate 23 is first forced upwardly into the head ring against the pressure of the spring 21. When these parts have seated the diaphragm draw plate 23 and the head ring 35 depress the lower draw block 62, thereby cupping the blank around the top and inner surface of the draw ring 60 until the draw block body 63 has seated against the spring plate 66 as shown in Fig. 4. During this cupping operation the blank is drawn inwardly over the draw ring 60 between the creasing rings 41 and 80 which serve to crease or flute the outer portion thereof.

Continued downward movement of the upper die then causes the skiving ring 42 to slide downwardly around the diaphragm head ring 35 for compressing and skiving the outer surface of the wall M of the cap. After the skiving ring has moved downwardly to a position where head ring 35 is seated against the shoulder 38 and the surface of the skiving ring retainer is seated against the shell 28, the entire upper die moves downwardly as a unit, with the draw ring 66 and draw block 62, against the force of the springs and 56 to the position of Fig. 5. During this portion of the movement, the sizing ring 10 remains stationary and is thu brought upwardly against the lower edge of the outer wall H of the cap housing for die-compressing the wall H between the sizing ring 16, the skiving ring 42 and the draw ring 60. In this position the pin 13 snaps under the shoulder ,11 of the sizing ring.

When the pressure on the upper die member is released the members separate in the reverse order. However, as the block body 63 moves upwardly the pin 13, which is carried thereby and is now engaged beneath the shoulder 11 of the sizing ring, carries the sizing ring upwardly with the block body '63, the draw ring 60 remaining stationary. The draw block 62 and the sizing ring 10 accordingly press upwardly against the diaphragm l0 and the lower edge of the wall l4 respectively of the cap, thereby stripping the cap from the draw ring 60 and forcing the entire cap upwardly.

When the draw block body 63 approaches the limit of its upward movement, the cam surfaces 18 and 19 of the draw ring 60 and the cup 14 respectively, engage to retract the pin 13 out of engagement with the shoulder 11 of the sizing ring as shown in Fig. 6. The sizing ring, thus released, is snapped back to its lower position as shown in Fig. '1, by the springs 69.

It is tobe noted that in the above operation the sizing ring 10 is caused to move upwardly with the lower draw block of the die so as to push the wall l4 of the cap upwardly to the top of the draw ring 60 for stripping the cap therefrom. The sizing ring, however, is automatically retracted by the springs 69 prior to the beginning of the next cap forming operation. By moving the sizing ring upwardly with the draw block, stripping pressure is automatically applied simultaneously to both the inner wall I2 and the outer wall M of the cap so as to lift the entire rim housing II from the draw ring 60 and to prevent distortion thereof due to strains which might otherwise be set up in removing the formed cap from the die.

It is to be understood, of course, that the invention is capable of various uses and is not to be restricted to the specific embodiment disclosed. The invention is to be restricted only in accordance with the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A die for forming paper caps or the like having a central depressed diaphragm portion and a peripheral inverted U-shaped container rim housing having spaced inner and outer walls and a top wall, said die comprising upper and lower die members mounted for relative forming and return movements and including a diaphragm draw plate and a diaphragm draw block respectively conforming to said depressed diaphragm, a draw ring forming apart of the lower diemember and conforming to the inside of said rim housing between said inner and outer walls, a skiving ring forming a part of said upper die member and conforming to the outer peripheral surface of said outer wall for skiving and forming the same, a sizing ring forming a part of said lower die member, mounted for movement between upper and lower positions and adapted to extend between said skiving ring and said draw ring to form the bottom edge of said outer wall, said sizing ring when in its lower position being adapted to cooperate with said skiving ring and said draw ring to exert die forming pressure on said outer wall, and means operable during said return movement of said die members after a forming operation to move said sizing ring and said draw block upwardly to a position flush with said draw ring for stripping said rim housing from said draw ring.

2. A die for forming paper caps or the like having a central depressed diaphragm portion and a peripheral inverted U-shaped container rim housing having spaced inner and outer walls and a top wall, said die comprising upper and lower die members mounted for relative forming and return movements and including a diaphragm draw plate and a diaphragm draw block respectively conforming to said depressed diaphragm, a draw ring forming a part of the lower die member and conforming to the inside of said rim housing between said inner and outer walls, a skiving ring forming a part of said upper die member and conforming to the outer peripheral surface of said outer wall for skiving and forming the same, a sizing ring forming a part of said lower die member, mounted for movement between upper and lower positions and adapted to extend between said skiving ring and said draw ring to form the bottom edge of said outer wall, said sizing ring when in its lower position being adapted to operate with said skiving ring and said draw ring to exert die forming pressure on said outer wall, means operable during said return movement of said members after a forming operation, to-move said sizing ring upwardly with said daphra'gm draw block for stripping said rim housing from said draw ring, means for releasing said sizing ring when it reaches its upper position and spring means for restoring said sizing ring to its lower position prior to the subsequent sizing operation.

3. A die for forming paper caps or the like hav-' ing a central depressed diaphragm portion and a peripheral inverted U-shaped container rim housing having spaced inner and outer walls and a top wall, said die comprising upper and lower die members mounted for relative forming and return movements and including a diaphragm draw plate and a diaphragm draw block respectively conforming to said depressed diaphragm, said draw block being mounted for movement between the upper and lower positions, a draw ring forming a part of the lower die member and conforming to the inside of said rim housing between said inner and outer walls, a skiving ring forming a part of said upper die member and conforming to the outer peripheral surface of said outer wall for skiving and forming the same, a sizing ring, forming a part of said lower die member, mounted for movement between upper and lower positions and adapted to extend between said skiving ring and said draw ring to form the bottom edge of said outer wall, said sizing ring when in its lower position being adapted to cooperate with said skiving ring and said draw ring to exert die forming pressure on said outer wall, means carried by said diaphragm draw block to engage said sizing ring and operable during said return movement of said die members after a forming operation to move said sizing ring upwardly with said draw block for stripping said rim housing from said draw ring, and means for releasing said sizing ring when said draw block approaches its upper position, and spring means to restore said sizing ring to its lower position when thus released.

4. A die for forming paper caps or the like having a central depressed diaphragm portion and a peripheral inverted U-shaped container rim housing having spaced inner and outer walls and atop wall, said die comprising upper and lower die members mounted for relative forming and return movements and including a diaphragm draw plate and a diaphragm draw block respectively conforming to said depressed diaphragm, said draw block being mounted for movement between upper and lower positions, a draw ring forming a part of the lower die member and conforming to the inside of said rim housing between said inner and outer walls, a skiving ring forming a part of said upper die member and conforming to the outer peripheral surface of said outer wall for skiving and forming the same, a sizing ring forming a part of said lower die member, mounted for movement between upper and lower positions and adapted to extend between said skiving ring and said draw ring to form the bottom edge of said outer wall, said sizing ring when in its lower position being adapted to cooperate with saidskiving ring and said draw ring to exert die forming pressure on said outer wall, said draw ring having a slot therein, a spring-pressed pin carried by said draw block and extending through said slot to slide on the inside surface of said sizing ring, a shoulder on said sizing ring to receive said pin when said draw block is in its lower forming position to cause said sizing ring to move upwardly with said draw block during the return movement of said member, cooperating cam surfaces on said draw ring and said pin to retract said pin when said draw block approaches its upper position, and spring means for restoring said sizing ring to its lower forming position when thus released.

KENNETH R. 

